50 Reasons We Miss Harry Potter

Severus Snape

What We Miss: Alan Rickman as the sneering, inscrutable professor, who kept us guessing right til the end who he was truly aligned with.

Why We Miss It: Snape was the character that everybody loved to hate, and hated to love. In short: he was perfect.

Casting announcements

What We Miss: Finding out which British treasure has been cast in a pivotal role.

Why We Miss It: The Harry Potter casting was pretty much always spot on.

Quite simply, JK Rowlings world

What We Miss: The completeness of JK Rowling’s imaginary world, with all its charm and wit.

Why We Miss It: We felt like we lived there a little bit. And now it’s gone forever.

Scene issues

What We Miss: Guessing which scenes will make it onto the big screen and which ones won’t.

Why We Miss It: It was the topic of much debate before the release of every Harry Potter film, and got us excited about the next movie.

Finding out what happens next

What We Miss: The expectation of the story’s next step. With Rowling’s series following a very obvious plot trajectory, half the fun was trying to figure out what was just around the corner.

Why We Miss It: The suspense of not knowing was almost as fun as the finding out.

Watching the kids grow up

What We Miss: Seeing Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint becoming actors before our very eyes as they take their characters from wee nippers to young adults.

Why We Miss It: It rarely happens on the big screen (or at least not within the confines of a single franchise), which is exactly what made it special.

Professor McGonagall

What We Miss: Gryffindor professor Minerva McGonagall, whose sharp tongue belies a warm spirit - this witch genuinely cares for the kids in her school.

Why We Miss It: McGonagall as played by Maggie Smith was the perfect matriarch.

Watching talent interviews

What We Miss: Seeing Radcliffe, Gary Oldman and the like chatting about their characters in the build up to the release of the latest Harry Potter movie.

Why We Miss It: Seeing the actors themselves talk about the characters was always fascinating, and gave us an insight into how they went about playing them.

The magic

What We Miss: Simple, really. JK Rowling came up with so many inventive spells and potions that they almost became characters in their own right.

Why We Miss It: That fizzy kind of creativity is hard to come by on the big screen.

Adapt that

What We Miss: Imagining just how the movie-making whizz kids are going to turn a complex action scene from the book into something epic on the big screen. Like, for example, the Gringott’s bank break-in…

Why We Miss It: We know that the whizz kids are going to do a good job of it.

Wacky creatures

What We Miss: Centaurs. Boggarts. Dementors. Giants. Goblins. The list of creatures that appeared over the course of the entire series is almost inexhaustible.

Why We Miss It: Magic creatures make us go "ooooh".

Hagrid

What We Miss: Grounds keeper and friendly giant Hagrid, who looks like he gives really amazing hugs.

Why We Miss It: A bumbling, big-hearted buffoon, Hagrid was a dependable and loveable oaf who wasn’t afraid to shed a tear or two.

Seeing the relationships develop

What We Miss: Will Hermione and Ron ever stop fighting long enough to realise they fancy each other? Will Harry and Ginny end up together? Was Dumbledore diddling Snape in the stockroom? All questions we eagerly awaited the answers to (alright, except for the last one).

Why We Miss It: It was like watching a magical soap opera.

Voldemort

What We Miss: Perhaps not since Darth Vader had there been a big screen villain whose epic evil designs were only matched in horror by the character design.

Why We Miss It: Slithery and mean, Voldemort was a brilliant foil. Still, glad Harry beat him.

The music

What We Miss: John Williams’ twinkling theme music. Completely unforgettably and pivotal in creating a suitably whimsical, moody atmosphere in the films.

Why We Miss It: That tingling feeling you get when the theme tune blares out over the opening scenes of the movie. It’s not often you get that feeling.

Hogwarts

What We Miss: The cliffside castle that is Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Why We Miss It: We want to live in a castle. And the nearest we ever came was while watching Harry Potter .

Bellatrix Lestrange

What We Miss: The nutty witch so brilliantly played by Helena Bonham Carter.

Why We Miss It: Every villain needs a cackling sidekick, and Lestrange beat all the other hands down. She even killed Sirius Black.

Harry, Hermione and Ron

What We Miss: Obviously. The central trio of heroes whose adventures were our entertainment.

Why We Miss It: That banter and interplay between the franchise’s three leads gave the films a believable hook on which to hang the fantastical storylines. Sure, Harry’s the hero, but he’d be nothing without his friends.

Quidditch

What We Miss: The wizarding world’s favourite sport – a complex game of hoops and balls played on broomsticks.

Why We Miss It: It’s a sport that we genuinely wish actually existed in the real world. Sadly the nearest equivalent is played by Potter fans without the use of broomsticks.

Diagon Alley

What We Miss: The creaky, cobbled shopping district where witches and wizards go to buy all their bits and bobs.

Why We Miss It: It was a place of character, where both the blackest of deeds and happiest of events could unfold. Do we spy a spin-off?

Therell never be anything like it again

What We Miss: Seven books. Eight films. Barely any casting changes unless absolutely necessary. The Harry Potter films were branded a phenomenon and rightly so – they’re a massive achievement.

Why We Miss It: It’s unlikely that something of this scale will be put together so completely again for a very long time.

The Dursleys

What We Miss: Harry’s horrible Muggle relatives, who take him in when his parents die and make sure his life is a continual misery.

Why We Miss It: Yeah, yeah, they were annoying, but they were hilarious. Especially Petunia.

Hedwig

What We Miss: Harry’s pet snowy owl, a loyal friend and birthday present from Hagrid. She dies protecting him in The Deathly Hallows Part One .

Why We Miss It: Not many birds would die for their owners.

Mad-Eye Moody

What We Miss: Galumphing and ungainly, Alastor ‘Mad-Eye’ Mood is an Auror (shapeshifter) who likes nothing better than capturing evil wizards.

Why We Miss It: He wasn’t in the movies anywhere near enough, and we want more of him.

The Weasleys

What We Miss: Molly Weasley, husband Arthur and their brood of children – including Harry’s best mate Ron. They’re all ginger. And adorable.

Why We Miss It: They’re a ragtag bunch who continually argue, but their affection for one another is quite clear. Is it too old to be adopted by them?

Snape and Harrys arguments

What We Miss: Snape and Mr Potter never saw eye to eye, and their ‘rub each other up the wrong way’ friction was always a source of much painful entertainment in the franchise.

Why We Miss It: It created friction in the films, and the chemistry between Rickman and Radcliffe was always sparky.

Peeves

What We Miss: Not much of a player in the films, but still a fun addition to the Hogwarts population, Peeves is a poltergeist who haunts the old castle.

Why We Miss It: There should’ve been more of him in the movies and, frankly, we feel short changed.

OWLs

What We Miss: The Ordinary Wizarding Level exams that everybody at Hogwarts has to take.

Why We Miss It: Alright, nobody likes exams, but these were magic exams! Wish we could’ve sat them instead of our GCSEs - we might've gotten better grades that way.

The mysteries

What We Miss: Each book/film had its own central mystery, which was cleverly woven into the series’ overall arc.

Why We Miss It: We never managed to figure out the answers to all of Rowling’s riddles before she revealed them, and that’s no mean feat.

The Dark Arts teacher

What We Miss: Each year a new Dark Arts teach is appointed at Hogwarts, and it’s always a surprise.

Why We Miss It: It’s another mystery that keeps us guessing. And the Dark Arts teacher is always invariably linked to the story’s central mystery.

The premieres

What We Miss: Seeing the Harry Potter stars strutting their stuff on the red carpet. And in particular Emma Watson’s increasingly fabulous dresses.

Why We Miss It: It’s just so glamorous and cool.

House Elves

What We Miss: The wee slaves of the wizarding community, who are as adorable as they are undeniably ugly.

Why We Miss It: Dobby was so cute! We want a house elf. Not that we’d make it do chores or anything. Maybe the occasional foot rub.

Sirius Black

What We Miss: Harry Potter’s dark horse of a godfather, an enigmatic chap if there ever was one.

Why We Miss It: He was played by Gary Oldman, which should tell you everything you need to know about why we miss him.

Harry vs Voldemort

What We Miss: The epic battles between the Dark Lord and out lightning bolt hero, both mental and physical.

Why We Miss It: The ever-growing hatred between the pair was palpable stuff. Sort of like a mystical drug.

Hermiones Brain

What We Miss: Not literally, obviously, but more what it contains – smarts of both book and street variety. Nothing flummoxes this madam.

Why We Miss It: Strong, intelligent female characters are still few and far between on the big screen, making Hermione’s absence sorely felt.

The Gryffindor common room

What We Miss: A cosy little corner of Hogwarts, where all the very best witches and wizards make their home.

Why We Miss It: It was a common room befitting of the valiant souls who belonged to Gryffindor house. We want to snuggle down on the sofa and read a good book by the firelight.

Lupin & Tonks

What We Miss: The power couple of Potterland – one’s a werewolf, the other’s an Auror. Together, they’re just brilliant.

Why We Miss It: Their deaths hit hard, and we’re still grieving.

The Twins pranks

What We Miss: Fred and George never made life easy for the professors at Hogwarts, and their exploits brought a little cheek and chaos to the Potterverse.

Why We Miss It: We’ll never see them pulling off pranks again, not now that Fred’s dead. Sob.

Dumbledore

What We Miss: Quite obviously, the most inscrutable yet endearing character of the series. The Hogwarts headmaster is a figurehead of good.

Why We Miss It: We want to know more about Dumbledore’s back story – there are surely still mysteries about his past left to solve.

The Order of the Phoenix

What We Miss: The Order, consisting of the Weasleys, the Potters, Remus Lupin, Alastor Moody et al.

Why We Miss It: Secret gangs don’t come much cooler.

Magical maladies

What We Miss: Magic’s a tricky thing, and there were numerous times throughout the books/films where we were shown it doesn’t always work out according to plan. Like Harry’s bendy, bone-less arm, Hermione’s cat-face…

Why We Miss It: They were hilarious! (Mostly because they weren't happening to us.)

Dolores Umbridge

What We Miss: The kitten-loving Dark Arts teacher who also works for the Ministry of Magic (eeeevil), and whose hiccupping laugh was a fun little tick that carried so much latent meaning.

Why We Miss It: She was deliciously rotten.

Death Eaters

What We Miss: Voldemort’s swooshy minions. Think the magical children of Nazis and the KKK.

Why We Miss It: They were like wand-wielding stormtroopers – essentially useless, but still massively memorable.

Harry vs Malfoy

What We Miss: The strained relationship between Harry and Malfoy, who were enemies long before Voldemort came back on the scene.

Why We Miss It: There’s nothing like a good old fashioned school rivalry, and watching these two spar really got us in the playground spirit.

The start of a school year

What We Miss: Those opening scenes when everybody travels to Hogwarts for the start of a new year, certain that it’s going to contain the requisite mystery and adventure.

Why We Miss It: It was something relatable that we could associate with – that ‘back to school’ feeling. Though if it had been Hogwarts we’d been returning to, we probably wouldn’t have complained so much.

The Sorting Hat

What We Miss: The Sorting Hat, which is instrumental in choosing which house a young new Hogwarts student is placed in for the rest of his education.

Why We Miss It: If a dusty old hat could speak, that’s totally what it would be like.

Professor Trelawney

What We Miss: Sybill Patricia Trelawney, the professor of Divination, who wore coke-bottle glasses and told the future. Really badly.

Why We Miss It: She was sort of like Mystic Meg only better.

Wizard fighting

What We Miss: The fighting in Rowling’s books was never really described in much details, but in the movies the combat scenes zing with energy as sparks and flames explode from wands. Truly dazzling duels.

Why We Miss It: Massive fight scenes rule.

The celebrations

What We Miss: No matter what was being celebrated – The Yule Ball, a wedding – Harry Potter always put its own magical spin on things.

Why We Miss It: It helped us see everyday things anew through a prism of magic. Wonderful.

Luna Lovegood

What We Miss: Flighty and ethereal with a sing-song voice and a working knowledge of all things weird, there’s not a mean bone in Luna’s body, and we love her.

Why We Miss It: “I know she's insane, but it's in a good way,” says Ron. We couldn’t agree more.

Josh Winning has worn a lot of hats over the years. Contributing Editor at Total Film, writer for SFX, and senior film writer at the Radio Times. Josh has also penned a novel about mysteries and monsters, is the co-host of a movie podcast, and has a library of pretty phenomenal stories from visiting some of the biggest TV and film sets in the world. He would also like you to know that he "lives for cat videos..." Don't we all, Josh. Don't we all.